Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 7 Fire Shut Up My Bones

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 10 Compared with most of the operatic canon, filled as it is with centuries-old compositions from old Europe, Fire Shut Up in My Bones is a mere toddler. But the work emblematizes a movement in the opera world, a fast shift toward bringing the new inside the grandest houses and onto the biggest stages. That’s especially true here in the home of Lyric Opera of Chicago, where Fire takes its place in a growing line of young operas Lyric has helped bring to audiences. Prominent in that cadre is of course the grandly scaled Bel Canto , a Lyric commission whose 2015 premiere garnered international notice. Dead Man Walking was a riveting highlight of the pre-pandemic season, and today there are numerous projects actively in development. Lyric is recognizing the urgent nowness of our artistic moment, a time when the stories and issues confronting people outside the opera house should undeniably be let in. “I believe opera is for everyone,” says Anthony Freud, Lyric’s General Director, President & CEO. “Lyric has an unswerving commitment to exploring the great works of the operatic repertoire, mining their power and relevance. But I understand that the heritage repertoire may not have obvious appeal to everyone. I want us to find and create new works that will both thrill the existing opera lover and intrigue and excite people who have never been in the building before.” Chicago, a city always building, matches the impulse for new opera like train wheels fit their tracks, says Lyric’s Music Director, Enrique Mazzola. “It is part of Chicago’s DNA to advocate for the new,” he says. “Modern and contemporary art of every type has long been a vibrant part of the city—I find that unique in the world.” by Graham Meyer Photo: Lyric Opera of Chicago Bel Canto Seeing Ourselves: New Work at Lyric